Chapter 3 – No Forward

Lauri had her bag turned upside down shaking it forcefully saying, “Where is that damn crowbar?” She knew she had packed it, or at least could have sworn she did. Now here she was an hour away from home, missing one of the most crucial factors to her journey. “How am I going to get into all of the lockers without a way to quietly pop the locks…”

“How could I have forgotten something so important! Damn it.” Lauri muttered annoyed at herself. She had gotten used to talking out loud on her walks, as it helped her get her thoughts in order. Although today she found herself doing it way more than usual as these strange events kept happening.

“I came all this way, there is no way I am going back empty handed.” Lauri began to look around the run down storage yard for anything she could use, but the years had not been kind to any metal that had been left sitting unprotected from the elements. Any of the tools she could find had either turned brown or gray with rust and corrosion.

As she letting out a heavy sigh, she walked back into the office to see if she could find anything that might help give her the leverage that she would need to pop the padlocks securing the units. Scanning the lobby Lauri was disappointed to not see anything that caught her eye in here either, but she did see a couple of things to put in the ‘maybe’ category.

What she really wanted was a thin sturdy bar she could slip in between the lock and the loop and separate them quietly, her best chance though would be an old red steel made fire extinguisher from what she could see when she looked around.

She didn’t know what it was previously used for, but it was heavy and had a solid place to grip.

If she just put in a little extra effort, she thought she might be able to hit a lock hard enough to pop it open. It was much heavier than she initially thought and though she would be able to swing it, she could tell moving with it was completely out of the question. This improvised tool would get the job done, but she still wasn’t happy about it.

As Lauri started to walk out the door, she saw a line of flatbed pull carts against one wall of the lobby. For the first time all morning her luck had changed for better, or so she thought. Upon pulling at the first cart, it didn’t budge at all. None of them did in fact.

“Can’t I just catch a break already?” She looked closer at the front of the carts, and it appeared as though a steel bar ran through the front of each cart lined up in place. The bar was firmly connected in place at both ends, one side coming directly out of the wall through a hole in each cart, and the other locked in place with a battery-operated internal lock mechanism that wouldn’t be moving any time soon.

Starting to get frustrated she turned to walk away, until she noticed a single cart on its side not locked up. It looked as though someone had been trying to repair it before on their last day at work before the fall. Everything was seemingly still intact, but it had a sign on it that simply read ‘No Forward.’ Flipping it back on its wheels Lauri tried pulling it, and with great joy she found it rolled after her with no problem at all.

She tried pushing it forward and it rolled with very little resistance as well. She laughed to herself just a little thinking about how much weaker people must have been in the past to consider this little bit of resistance a large enough inconvenience to need to repair the entire cart.

Done wasting time, Lauri put the fire extinguisher in to her cart and began pulling it along behind her. Exiting the lobby out the side door she found herself with a choice to make, “which road do I want to start my search on?” Being a little short on time, the closest unit became her target.

It only took a few minutes for her to realize she had a problem. Lauri found herself banging away at the first lock making a lot of noise, but very little progress. She had misjudged the situation in a crucial way. Rather than the locks being the padlock she was used to seeing, these were circular. The lock rolled in on itself so that it couldn’t easily be forced open.

She could have continued to bash on the lock, but Lauri knew it would only be a waste of time. She needed to come back with a way to cut these damn locks off. Running through her options she decided maybe the grocery store could provide her with the answer. It might be a long shot, but maybe the tools she longed for could be found inside.

Unable to bring herself to leave just like that, Lauri decided to at least do a quick lap around the complex. She wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be missing out on any easily overlooked finds. She did notice that there were at least a dozen units with the simple lock holding them in place, but they were to spread out. If she took the time to drag her cart between each one, she would be burning too much of the precious time that she had left.

However, Lauri did make a note of a couple units that stood out. Lauri noticed that there were three units' side by side in the center of the third row that looked suspiciously well kept. It looked like some clutter had been purposefully placed in front of them to make them stand out less. Whenever she got a closer look to inspect the units it became obvious that the center door had been lifted recently. The dirt and dust that could be easily seen on every other building had been wiped away on these units.

How she wanted to go forward was the current question at hand. Should she stay and investigate further or keep her presence hidden? On the one hand there was no telling what could be hidden inside! On the other hand, would someone notice her intrusion? Would she be able to safely come back for the other units if she forced this one open? She didn’t know and wasn’t willing to risk being seen.

She wanted to come back with the proper tools and hit them all in one go. It didn’t feel right leaving empty handed though, that is why Lauri sat down and pulled the rough looking back pack in to her lap. Loosening the draw string she reached in looking for something to write on. In the end she realized the only thing she really had that would work was the map. She unfolded it and was careful not to tear any of the creases and flipped it over.

Pulling out another of her prized possessions she began to write. Basic writing tools weren’t unheard of, that was one technology that was quickly adapted after the fall. What Lauri pulled out though was of the old world. She held in her hands a dull yellow Ticonderoga N2 pencil. It had been well preserved when she had found it in the plastic container months ago.

She began to write some details to herself about the storage units. “Unit numbers 323, 324, 325 have been used recently.” Looking closer at the lock Lauri notices that it looks like the circular lock has an emblem on the back side she hadn’t seen before. She quickly checks the other two before making another note to herself, “There is an anvil and hammer etched in to the lock of 324, not on 323 or 325 though. Important?” she asked herself.

There isn’t anything else that stands out to Lauri, and she decides it is time to leave. Since the fall it has been hard to know the exact time without a watch or clock of some kind., but it had to be getting closer to four in the morning. A light pinkish orange hue was beginning to glow over the horizon. Even broken up by the buildings surrounding her, Lauri had learned through trial and error that she could gauge roughly what time it was by watching the color change among the skyline.

“Just one hour left it is time to start moving a little bit quicker.” Lauri says to no one in particular. Knowing that, she has to set aside a bit of her caution if she wants to reclaim any of the old on this particular outing. “Is that really the smart move though?”

She can’t help but to think about less than an hour before,” What if they’re still nearby?”

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She would never be allowed to join a Greenmen team if she kept second guessing herself. Lauri knew that every time she left their tower her safety went out the window. Even knowing this she still escaped every chance she got. Unwilling to let this trip be for nothing, it is time to make a choice.

She returned the cart and fire extinguisher to where she found them on the way out of the storage complex. It was absent mindedly that she admitted to herself that maybe the inconvenience of her ‘No Forward’ cart was greater than she originally thought, over time that added bit of effort added up. Flipping the cart back on its side was cathartic in a way, leaving the burden behind.

After returning everything to its proper place, Lauri was ready to write this off as experience scouting and call the storage complex done for now. She did her best to close the gate behind her quietly, but the aged metal cracked and creaked loudly in the surrounding silence. As she held her breath she stayed as still as possible to make sure she hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention.

After thirty seconds or so of waiting Lauri was pretty sure she was in the clear. She took out her map and oriented herself using ruins she had grown to recognize over the years. “Off to the next one!” she whispered energetically to herself, starting in the direction of the grocery store.

As she took her first step, an electric chill ran through Lauri's body. For the second time this morning this trip was turning out to be more than she bargained for. Her near run in with the Rampant was one thing, but this feeling felt somehow as if it were directed at her.

Once again Lauri paused, taking in her surroundings, much more intensely this time. The silence took on a much more ominous feeling than before. Her body pressed against the wall to the point where she could feel it through the layers of clothes. She wanted to make herself as small as possible, anything to help her blend in.

While searching her surroundings she took in the broken store fronts, the smashed glass, and the cracked pavement. Although nothing looked out of place, she couldn't shake the feeling something was watching her. Just as she was getting ready to dismiss it all she saw the eyes in the distance.

Two narrow blocks away behind the burned wreckage of a vehicle that was nearly as tall as she was. It was there and gone in an instant. The whole experience happened so quickly she wasn't sure if it happened at all, or if she simply imagined it. Two purple eyes had been watching her perfectly still in the darkness with an unnatural glow to them.

The adrenaline started to flood Lauri's body, her heart started pounding uncontrollably, the sensation of her stomach plummeting left her feeling like she was going to vomit. She needed to run. Break line of sight. Hide. Whatever it took to survive. Then the realization struck her.

Skytop was visible in the distance, straight ahead. Directly down the street that the eyes had been watching her from. If she wanted to get home and to safety, she was going to have to go through whatever horror had been watching her. Through, or around.

Not allowing herself to hesitate any longer Lauri took off at a sprint, not towards the tower but perpendicular to it. If she could get far enough away and confirm she was no longer being watched, then she could loop back around to her home. She’d had enough adventure for one night and was ready to be inside her four walls. Inside the tower the air may have been old and stale but at least she could breathe easily there.

Lauri ran and ran without stopping, after three long blocks she sharply cut to her left around a street corner. Pressing her entire body against the corner to stabilize herself, she peaked around the corner. The next thing she saw down the street gave her hope. That thing she saw that gave her so much hope was nothing. She saw nothing at all. Not a single thing had chased after her.

The thought crept in for a second time, “My eyes must have been playing tricks on me. Look at me getting all worked up just because a little piece of shiny metal caught the light from the sky.” Although even as she said it, she couldn't deny what she had seen. Shiny metal in the ruins didn't exist. What else could it have been though, really?

Taking stock of the situation Lauri realized that her morning was coming to an end. She had ran in the opposite direction of the grocery store and had put herself even further away from home. As the sun was coming up, she couldn't afford to move around so carelessly. Creatures that lay dormant at night rose with the sun.

It was time to head back. She would be lucky to make it back before teams started leaving for their daily assignments. Since she had to be sneaky and go cautiously slow it would take over an hour to make it back on the shorter side, and closer to two hours if anything delayed her further. The good news is that even though she didn't have a clear path to make it back in time, she could still make out Skytop in the distance standing tall compared to many of the buildings that had collapsed long ago.

Lauri had been creeping through the low light for about 45 minutes and was getting closer to home when it happened. She had made surprisingly great time despite her slower pace. She hadn’t had to stop or hide, so her steady journey was almost at its end. Just two blocks away from the base of the tower she heard a noise.

She could see a dog lying in the middle of the road just about forty feet away from her. The dog let out a high pitch whimpering noise and glistened as if wet. Lauri began to make out more details as she got closer. Its fur was matted, and sticky covered in blood. Clearly it had been injured, fuck bones could be seen coming out of the flesh at unnatural angles. She wasn't sure what had happened to it, but it was injured, and she couldn't let it suffer alone.

Approaching the dog quietly in the tiniest whisper possible Lauri tried to comfort him saying, “Hey buddy, it's okay. It's alright. I'm here, and I'm not going to hurt you. Let me just get a little bit closer so I can try and help. Alright?” The dog's ears raised slightly but otherwise did not show any signs of recognizing her presence. When she was just ten feet away it began to shift.

To her horror, for the third but not final time this morning, Lauri got an unwanted surprise. The dog had seemed a little bigger than she expected when it was laid curled in on itself, but as it stood nothing less than a full transformation took place. Distance and posture hid the creature’s true monstrous size. Now fully standing and stretched out before her it was larger than she was.

At five foot four inches, Lauri was not a tall girl. That didn't take away from the fact that the dogs head was chest level, and he was longer than she was tall. The dogs rippling muscle could be seen moving under its gray fur as if the muscle had a life of its own. What struck true fear in to her heart was the horrible protruding bones all over its body. As the muscles flexed, the bone extended and retracted in time.

Paralyzed, Lauri was unable to move her body, but oddly found herself trembling entirely. Just when she thought this was it, nothing could possibly make things worse, she heard the awful laughter.

“Ohhh man, you should have seen your face!” the Man yelled from where he had been leaned against the building. “It was worth the wait for that alone!” His voice sounded too casual, almost as if he was genuinely having fun and this was nothing more than a pleasure walk for him. He wore the relaxed airs of someone that thought themselves to be untouchable.

Lauri winced, what was this man doing shouting in the ruins. Doesn’t he know where he is? The Rampant could be anywhere, and they would just be waking up at this time. Confusion turned to anger as she realized this was all just a joke to him. The dog’s deference to its master was clear even at a distance. This had been a setup, at her expense, and with her life on the line.

Losing her temper Lauri screamed in frustration, “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?! You think this is funny? This is sick!” The animal before her hadn’t moved a hair since its master spoke, but now it began a low growl.

The aggression from the dog reminded her that this wasn't a game, and that she could very well die out here. She would already be dead in fact if this mysterious stranger so much as willed it. She tried to keep her tone as neutral as she could Lauri asked again, “Why are you doing this?”

The Man who had been standing in long shadows up until now took a step forward in to the light. She could see more features, he was wearing what appeared to be an old-world suit, in great condition, all gray and black as if he had coordinated with his dog. As he raised his eyes to meet Lauri's she saw that same purple glow that she knew would haunt her for years to come. “Why my dear, I'm new in town and just thought it was the polite thing to do to introduce myself to the neighbors.” He said without missing a beat, as a sinister smile plastered on his face from ear to ear.

As he Finished his grand entrance the Man took a bow and gestured as if to wave Lauri away. His last words were directed to her, “Please do let your people know I will be meeting with them soon, now run along this isn't the only meeting I have today. Oh, and a parting gift.” At just the snap of his fingers the dog struck like lightning.

Lauri threw her arms up to defend herself and her jacket was quickly shredded. She didn't understand why but even as the dog attacked, she felt as though it was toying with her. It viciously tore in to her, but all her wounds were superficial, bleeding with nothing she couldn't recover from given time. As a final slash the dog drew a bone spur from under its paw across her ribs opening a wide gash. It burned more intensely than the other cuts and felt like it was only growing hotter by the second.

With its assault complete the dog leapt back, then began to scamper playfully after it's master as if it hadn’t just savaged a person. Lauri no longer on the defensive and starting to think coherently reached for the wooden handle of her knife. Before she had a chance to draw it though she heard feral screams coming from behind her.

The Rampant were awake throughout the ruins, and six had been attracted by the fighting. They were horribly misshapen, of all shapes and sizes, and charging right at all. She abandoned any hope of fighting and turned to run for her life towards her tower. She knew she couldn’t out run them, but Lauri wasn’t ready to lay down and die yet.

As she ran with everything she had, she knew they were gaining on her with each second. The cacophony behind her told of the creatures chasing her bumping in to each other and throwing aside anything that got in their way. She had less than a block to go when they were within feet of her when the shout broke the air.

Louder than humanly possible, and with true rage, Lauri heard the Man before commanding the Rampant. “DON'T FUCKING TAKE ANOTHER STEP! They're mine to play with, and you will not be ruining this game before it has properly begun.”

She didn't stop running until she made it to the tower. And she did make it to the tower. Even now she couldn’t understand how. She stole a glance back before bursting through the doors and up the stairs. She couldn't believe what she saw. The Rampant had stopped in place. They too were trembling, frozen in place, their muscles strained against the command they had been given. It was as if they had been locked down against their will, and they were doing everything in their power to fight it.

Lauri didn't have time to try and make sense of what had just happened. In complete shock she noticed that blood was pouring out of the cut to her side. She didn't understand why, but it felt wrong as if there somehow was more than there should have been. She was getting dizzy, and her senses were starting to fade. She had to make it to the top, she had to warn her people. So, with the fear of death behind her, and with the fear of what was to find in front of her, Lauri ran until everything went black.